Gastrointestinal stability of dihydromyricetin, myricetin, and myricitrin: an in vitro investigation

The gastrointestinal (GI) stability of three flavonoids, dihydromyricetin (DMY), myricetin (MYR), and myricitrin (MYT), was examined in simulated physiological fluids. Several factors that may influence the degradation rate of theses flavonoids were evaluated, including pH and the presence of pepsin and pancreatin enzymes. We found that GI stability followed the order of MYT > DMY > MYR. These flavonoids were stable in simulated gastric fluids and buffer solutions (pH 1.2), but encountered a pseudo-first-order kinetic degradation in simulated intestinal fluids and buffer solutions (pH 6.8). We conclude that it is the pH, rather than the presence of pepsin or pancreatin, which most strongly influences the stability of these three flavonoids. Further study of the stability of the compounds using a pH range (1.0-8.0) indicated potential instability in the duodenum, small intestine, and colon. Therefore, we conclude that the low bioavailability of these flavonoids may be due to their poor stability in the GI tract.